In order for the Enugu Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal to make a decision regarding the matter of alleged overvoting that is said to have occurred in Nkanu East Local Government Area during the state’s March 18 governorship elections, the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked that it rely on the certified true copies of BVAS data submitted by candidate of the Labour Party.
Contrary to what was stated in the subpoena issued by the Tribunal on Saturday, INEC failed to bring some of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems (BiVAS) machines used for Owoh and Ugbawka areas in Nkanu East. INEC requested that the copies of the commission that were provided to the Labour Party and that have been presented before the court be accepted as admissible evidence.
The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Chukwuemeka Chukwu, was accused of ignoring pleas to allow a forensic analysis of the BiVAS machines in violation of a legally issued subpoena, according to Edeoga, who concluded his case at the tribunal on Sunday. Edeoga had petitioned the Chairman of INEC.
The tribunal issued an oral subpoena on Saturday, compelling INEC to appear on Sunday with the BiVAS machines after several failed attempts to evade the subpoena issued on June 26, 2023.
In order to determine whether there was overvoting in the impacted areas, the tribunal had to rely on the evidence provided by the Labour Party and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga. The official who represented INEC in court, who went by the name of Mr. Eze Okafor, failed to provide the 10 BiVAS machines as requested by the tribunal.
Only five BiVAS machines were claimed to have been used to accredit voters in the Igbo Eze North Local Government Area when INEC arrived at the tribunal as early as 9.00 am on Sunday, but even those that were offered were either empty or clocking, making it impossible for the forensic expert to conduct the anticipated examination of the machines.
The Labour Party claimed in its petition that Nkanu’s vote total had increased from around 15,000 authorized voters to 32,000, or more than 16,000 votes. The Electoral Act allows for the annulment of votes in situations where overvoting is proven to have occurred.
Following the announcement that Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had won the state’s governorship elections on March 18, 2023, Chijioke Edeoga went to the tribunal to seek redress.
In his petition, Edeoga listed five justifications for why he was the legitimately elected candidate.
He claims that the NYSC discharge document was forged, and he further claims that votes were suppressed in the local government areas of Udenu and Enugu South.
Others include claimed instances of vote irregularities in Igbo Eze North Local Council and Nkanu East Local Government Area, including overvoting in some electoral districts.